Nerding out on Brakes shall we? Not another tech deraliment

what were they 'stuck to'? 

I think so. Doesn't work with aluminium backed pads (are not so common though), will pull any metallic wear particles, the magnets have to be high temperature resistant and can demagnetise if overheated, etc.

There's nothing really wrong with the pins that most brakes use. 

What would be a good set of brake pads that work better “cold” rather than needing to be warmed up after a few corners before they start preforming?

I need to replace my Intend pads and while I thought they were ok I want something that hits operating temperature faster since my brake system has way more hear capacity than my 160lb rider weight can use. 

Something organic or semi-metallic rather than full sintered.  Galfer greens bed in like instantly, so that could work really well.  I tried those and they felt great but wore down really fast.  I'm about your weight, and prefer organics on my non-ebikes for that reason.  For ebikes, I run sintered because their extra weight pushes me over the threshold.

I’m 150lb and I have 2 setups with MTX red pads. One with Hayes + 200x1.95 rotors (Hayes D) and another with Formula Cura 4 with Formula Rotors (200x2.3 monolith). I find the Hayes are up to braking power in cold faster than the Formulas.  The Formula seem to stay cooler on heavy consistent braking though.

All that to say rotors width I believe may play a role in “warm up” and I like MTX reds. 

Im on the 203mm TRP 2.3 rotors

My only disclaimer is that I have no problem with either being “cold”.  It may take a few seconds of using it, but doesn’t impact me. I don’t ride in that cold so YRMV. 

Obviously pads are the least cost option to try first.

Galfer green is the best for quick brake performance but comes at the cost of pad life.... however they are great.

Got a big ride in on the TRP S05e 220 rotor today.  You guys were spot on.  It was nearly perfectly true out of the box and took very little to true up.  On the bike, they have a nice solid bite, maybe a little less sharp than the Sharks but somehow feel firmer at the lever.  Waaaayyy quieter.  They made 2 little squeaks I think in 3 hours that went away instantly.  Anyways, pretty big fan of these after 1 ride.  When I wear out my 203 Sharks I plan on replacing them with the 203 version of the S05e.

Swiss stop organic are good, go well with an alloy core Shimano rotor in cold temps.

Longshot here... does anyone fancy a trade on brake setups?  My TRPs for your Mavens.

I have some TRP DHR Evos that I'd like to trade for Maven Silvers.  I like my TRPs, but now my 3 other bikes have maven's on them and switching back and forth is a pain.  I'm going to fire sale these at an insane deal for what they are... but I know that people in this thread are very particular about brakes like I am and figure someone may be in the same situation and going the opposite direction.  This set of brakes if flawless, no odd lever issues, no bleed issues and under 400 miles on them.  

TRP DHR Evos (silver), Freedom Coast Levers (silver), 2x Shimano Metallic Pads bedded to 203mm TRP RS01E rotors, 2x TRP Organic Pads (blue) bedded to 220mm TRP RS05E rotors, stock trp lever blades, 203mm trp brake adapters, extra bleed/olive fittings.  

I have Dominions one one bike, and Trinity's on the other... the Intend brakes are brutal for a small chap like me. almost unreasonable power haha.

Dominions just work, 3yrs of nothing done they just work the same all the time. 

Ah, another season and another leaking xt lever to my collection. 

They are cheap af but it's a bit dissapointing - the collection is already quite impressive. 

Did you try to swap the piston to some aftermarket ones from aliexpress? 

https://www.instagram.com/p/DQ4cFlRjIsr/?hl=en

Would anyone know when or if there is going to be these new swing links for the mavens available to the public. Currently i think that they are red in the current brakes, these gold ones on luca's bike apparently have a lighter lever feel which would make the mavens way better. i might remember seeing some point during the world cup season troy brosnan was also running something similar. 

I believe it's April (or somewhere around April '26) for the launch of a whole range of SRAM products, these included. I wonder if they'll make those available on their own to install on current gen of Mavens

I personally don't feel the lever is hard to pull in any way but do you want a light lever feel on a strong brake? Seems like it would be MORE difficult to modulate if light forces like trail feedback can have more of an affect on lever pull/modulation. 

From everything I've read on the topic, a lighter free stroke portion of the pull will mean it gets longer.  Think Dominions, which have one of the lightest but also longest free strokes out there.

I wouldn't mind trying the gold cam, but have no issues with the red one.  What I care about is the amount of force required to actually slow down, which is way less on Mavens than most other brakes. 

Intend Trinity summed up. LOL

Nah. I have two sets of T4V4s - one that was bought all new with the new MC, pistons and seals, and one that was T3V4 and only the levers were replaced with the new T4s. Both sets are strong but the all-new-one has a much lighter lever feel which makes it quite a bit nicer. A lot nicer. I am guessing the difference is in less friction in the new pistons and seals, so that's the next thing I am upgrading this winter.

Ive had three pairs of Dominions and they have less free stroke than any other brake I've used at ~14mm. All very consistent. Definitely don't need long throw for light stroke.

Anyone has real life experience with both the Mavens and the Motives? Yesterday I just got myself a Santa Cruz Tallboy that came with weak brakes (Sram Guide T). On my enduro bike I have Maven Ultimates and I absolutely love them (after years of bad experiences with Shimanos). But now I'm not sure if another set of Mavens (with smaller rotors) will be overkill for the small bike and instead I should get the Motives or if the power difference between them is too big to make the downgrade worthwile. For reference, I'm 85kg and I will definitely ride the bike on all sorts of trails. I already have Mavens on another two bikes, so I prefer to stick to Sram for easier service.

What about Code RSCs? I think the caliper is basically the same as Motive, but you get a swing link and contact point lever. 

I like codes with hs2

I guess Code RSCs are a valid option powerwise, but I don't want to deal with both dot and mineral oil.

How are people getting on with the new Hope GR4 & TR4s? I'm especially interested in a comparison between them. There's no detailed reviews out for them yet & I'm not sure why really!

We reviewed them, in case you missed it: https://www.vitalmtb.com/product/guide/hydraulic-disc-brakes/hope-technology/evo-gr4-69746#product-reviews-683186. 

Somehow I had, thanks for that, I'll have a read later.

Vital put something up about this about a month ago

I know this sounds crazy, but I would go with db8's with metallic pads and Hs2 rotors before going with the codes at this point.  I jumped on my trail bike that had codes with hs2 rotors after being on my bikes with maven's for 6 weeks straight and the lack of braking performance was a bit jarring, also my hands/arms hurt from pulling the levers so hard.  The DB8's on the other hand, feel really good and the linear lever throw makes them feel more confidence inspiring then the lack of power combined with the swing link power ramp up.  

I was/am faced with the same issue you're facing as I had trp dhr evo's on above mentioned trail bike that were the replacement for the code rsc's that I found insufficient.  I was really having a hard time going back and forth between maven's and the trp's with regards to: lever throw, bite point feedback and lever pull effort required for max power.  I would get used to them after like 2.5 - 3 descents and would adjust... but the initial first descents were pretty tough.  

I ended up going with a set of maven base with 200mm rotors after a lot of brain damage and inner debate.  I am not stoked about adding ~150g to the bike, but I think I just need to be over braked and deal with the consequences.